Railroad-truck



(No Model.)

J. W. JENKINS. RAILROAD TRUCK No. 431,057. f Patented July 1, 1890.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH \V. JENKIN S, OF SEDDON, ALABAMA.

RAILROAD-TRUCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 431,057, dated July 1, 1890.

Application filed April 17, 1890. Serial No- 348,346. (No model.)

clear, and exact description of the same, refer ence being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, and to the let ters of reference marked thereon.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in sliding safety-bed attachments to locomotives, trucks, and railway rolling-stock in general, for the purpose of preventing serious accidents, loss of life and property by the burning through or breaking off of axles, the spreading of rails, and other causes, the attachment providing for the retention of the locomotive or truck on the rails, sliding along thereon till the engineer cuts off steam and the train comes to a standstill.

My improvement can be readily attached underneath any locomotive or truck, and in use will be found reliable and efficient.

Other objects and advantages of the invenwill hereinafter appear, and the novel features thereof will be specifically defined by the appended claims.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which, with the letters of reference marked thereon, form a part of this specification, and in which Figure 1 is a bottom plan illustrating my improvement. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through the lines z,with the parts rightside up. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of one of the transverse bars detached.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts throughout the several views.

Referring now to the details of the drawings by letter, A designates a portion of the frame of a truck; B, the axles, and O the wheels of ordinary construction and adapted to support the load in the usual manner.

1) are transverse or cross bars, flat on the top and on the under side rounded, as shown in Figs. 2 and 8, and at the ends and also sometimes between the ends turned down at right angles to form flanges a, as seen best in Fig.

4. Besides these, there are longitudinal bars E passing over the transverse bars and bolted to them and bent at such an angle at both ends, after passing over and being bolted to said transverse bars, as to bring the ends of these longitudinal bars up to the level of the axles, as seen in Fig. 2. A hollow cup, journal, or box Z) is provided near each end of the longitudinal bars to fit under the axles to support the axles in case they break or are burned off in the regular journal-boxes.

The transverse bars, with their downwardly-extendingfianges,andthelongitudinalbars, with their cups, hollows, or journal-boxes, are bolted together and to the timbers of the rolling-stock, being proportioned to the particular sort of rolling-stock to which they are ap plied, and constitute the improved safety-bed attachment. The transverse bars should be bolted on as close to the wheels as possible, allowing clear play, so as to bring them as near as possible to the axles, leaving as short a length as possible of the longitudinal bars to project beyond them, supporting the axles in case of accident. They should also be bolted tothebottom of the truck-bed, so as to be about three inches or less above the level of the rails, and, if necessary to bring them to that level, two or more longitudinal bars may be bolted, one at either end of the transverse bars, to bring the transverse bars down low enough to clear the rails just about three inches, more or less. The longitudinal bars rest on the transverse bars, ready to sup port the axles in case of necessity, and the transverse bars come down and slide on the rails when the wheels have jumped the track, run off, dropped between them from spreading of the rails, or when one or more of the wheels have come off from the axle burning in theboxes, as often happens. The bottom of the transverse bars being rounded enables them to slide along the rails without catching on any small projection, and the flanges turned down at the ends prevent lateral play and prevent the safety device from slipping off the rails to either side. Both the longitudinal and transverse bars should be of sufficient strength to support the necessary weight.

I may employ two or more longitudinal bars and two or more transverse bars, as occasion may require. I have shown four of each in the drawings, but do not intend to restrict myself to this number. lmay also sometimes employ flanges between the rails, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, to prevent lateral sliding between the rails; hence when in the following claims I refer to flanges I wish to be understood as covering two or more.

In Fig. 3 I have shown a slightly-modified form of construction,the efiect, however,bein g the same. In this figure the longitudinal bars are bent downward between the wheels, and a block a placed between the same and the timbers of the truck, as shown, to strengthen the same. In this case brace-irons H are employed to strengthen the ends of the longitudinal bars, as shown in said Fig. 3.

The attachment can be readily applied to trucks now in use, and will be found most efficient in practice.

What I claim as new is 1. An attachment to trucks consisting of longitudinal bars formed with hollows to receive the axles and transverse bars normally above the rails, and supported on the longitudinal bars, substantially as shown and described.

2. An attachment for the purpose specified, consisting of longitudinal bars formed with hollows to receive the axles, and transverse bars having rounded under faces secured to the longitudinal bars and formed with downwardly-extending flanges, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

3. The combination, with the truck, of the longitudinal bars secured to the under side thereof and formed with hollows, as shown, and the transverse bars arranged upon each side of the wheels, and formed with downwardly-extending flanges upon opposite sides of the rails, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

In testimony that I claim the above I have hereunto subscribed my name in the pres ence of two witnesses.

J OSEPII W. JENKINS.

Witnesses:

GEO. T. WINTON, JNo. J. CARSON. 

